The first one is Abraham, also known as the Father of Faith. Before he was known as Abraham, he was known as Abram. One day God said to Abram, “Leave your country, your friends, and your family and go.” Abram said, “Go where?” God said, “I’ll tell you when you get there.” Okay! Then God said, “I’m going to make the whole world know your name. Through your family, I’m going to bless the whole world.” Now Abraham was 75 years old when God told him this and he didn’t any kids! But you know what? This guy did what God told him and sure enough, when Abraham was 100 years old, and his wife Sarah was 90, they had a son named Isaac. So, Isaac was the sole heir to the promise that God would make Abraham’s family great and that the whole world would be blessed through his family. There were no other kids in line for this promise, only Isaac.
That brings us to Genesis 22:1-18 - where God asks Abraham to sacrifice his Isaac - his son, upon the altar. That’s a pretty amazing story considering that Isaac was not only Abraham and Sarah’s only Son, he was the only heir to the promise. There are some incredible lessons for us to learn from Abraham’s story. Let’s look at three of them.
Like Abraham, we need to…
1. Trust God
God told this guy some pretty outrageous things and guess what? Abraham believed him! "Leave my country, friends and family and go to a land you’ll show me later? Okay. You’re going to bless the whole world through my offspring even though I am 75 years old and I don’t have any kids? Cool." God had an awesome plan for Abraham’s life and Abraham believed God and trusted that plan.
- Genesis 15:6 (NIV) Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
- James 2:23 (NLT) And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: "Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous." He was even called "the friend of God."
Like Abraham, we need to believe and trust God with our lives. Like Abraham we need to live our lives by faith.
2. Obey God
Abraham is a model of radical faith. He is also a model of radical obedience. God told Abraham to go to a land he would show him later. He went. When he was 75 years old, God told Abraham he would have a kid. Then, twenty five years later, he and Sarah finally have Isaac. What does God do? He tells Abraham to sacrifice him! He did. You see, our faith doesn’t mean much unless we’re willing to act on our faith in obedience. God gave the command to test Abraham’s faith.
- Hebrews 11:17 (NIV) By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son.
3. Surrender to God
God had given Abraham an awesome promise. His whole life was wrapped up in his only son, Isaac. And God asked him to sacrifice him? Why? Wouldn’t this short-circuit the whole plan? See Genesis 22:12-18. Isaac was Abraham’s most prized possession. He was everything to Abraham and that is exactly what God wants – everything. God wants all of you – your whole life.
- Matthew 10:39 (NCV) Those who try to hold on to their lives will give up true life. Those who give up their lives for me will hold on to true life.
It’s a biblical paradox, the more we try to cling to our lives the more we lose it. The more we surrender our lives, the more we gain. You see, God had to know from Abraham that Isaac was not ultimately his. Isaac belonged to God. The promise was to the glory of God. If Abraham had selfishly clasped Isaac and kept him from God, the promise would not have been fulfilled because God can not use a life that has not been surrendered to him. God will not compete with an idol in your life. Either he is more important to you than anything in the world – even your very life, or he’ll have no place at all. To accept anything less would prevent Him from being God.
If you are afraid to trust God with your most prized possession, dream, or person, pay attention to Abraham’s example. Because Abraham was willing to give up everything for God, he received back more than he could have imagined. The only way to enjoy life, therefore, is to loosen our greedy grasp on all that is prized to us. It is only then that God knows he is LORD in our lives and God blesses whatever he is charge of. I want to challenge you to make God the only stronghold in your life.
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